Home
by Evilsforreals
Summary: Connie must come to terms with the destruction of his village.


Home

"Connie…you did well."

"Yes sir."

It took every ounce of military training not to fall to pieces right there in front of Pixis, Levi, Hanji, and Irwin. Each one a legend in their own right. What a sight it would be for him to break down in front of them. But Connie knew better. He was a soldier and a fighter. He had done his duty. Follow the orders. That's what he did.

And so Connie endured the questions. He repeated what he knew about the physical similarities between his mother and the Titan left in his village. He listened as Hanji told the commander that the number of villagers exactly equaled the number of encountered Titans.

After the debriefing, Hanji took Connie aside. There was worry in her voice. "Not many people could endure what you've gone through. Take a few days off. You've earned it, but you look like hell. Take some time to recharge, and report back in a week."

"Yes." That was all Connie could muster before marching off, leaving Hanji outside Irwins room.

As he walked through the town, he noticed a few soldiers in Military Police jackets on patrol. That could have been him. Safe within the walls. He probably could have put in a notice to move his family into the walls. If it wasn't for the Scouting Legion and Eren-

_**No**__. It wasn't Eren's fault. He didn't know about this. Hell, he didn't even know what was happening in his own body. The way he had saved them all when he called the Titans to attack Reiner and Berthdolt…_

_Reiner. Berthdolt. Ymir , Thomas. Mother. Father. Sunny. Martin. Dead allies, friends as betrayers, a family of Titans, not even a jokester like me could have devised such a cruel irony. Could I have been the one to kill my sister or brother? My father?_

Connie didn't even realize that he had entered his room. So clean and proper. Just the way Mother had taught him. It felt as if the room itself was laughing at the utter destruction of everything he had ever known. He reached for the photo of his family on the desk with shaking hands. There was Sunny. All smiles, so bright and cheerful as her name implied. And there was Martin punching Connie in the back. Even with a six year difference, Martin never backed down from their sparring matches. And there was Mother and Father. Looking at them with such love. _ The last thing I ever heard from mother was through the mouth of a Titan._

It was then that the tears began to flow. Silently at first; quietly trickling down his cheek, staining his shirt with dark spots. But the silent convulsions quickly turned to a howl of despair that shook the paper-thin walls of his room. The pain was too great, the sadness too deep. Why was he alive while so many people he knew and loved were gone? For three years he had trained to be a soldier, and his family had supported him all the way. And now they were dead. Dead or worse.

It felt like hours of reliving every decision that he had made that had led up to this moment before Connie finally stopped screaming. Panting with ragged sobs, he clamped his eyes shut, forcing more tears to spill onto his soaked bed. His hands squeezed the coarse bedsheets as tightly as possible.

And then he felt someone touching his hand. It smelled of bread, and was calloused like his. Through his watery vision, Connie could see two yellow eyes looking back at him.

"Sasha…"

Sasha interrupted him with an enormous hug, tighter than any bearhug that Reiner had ever given him. He could hear her own sobbing as she shared his grief, his pain. There was a sound from the corner, and then he realized they were all here. All that was left of the 104th Squad had crammed into his tiny room.

Jean was patting Connie's shoulder in a robotic rhythm. He had never been good at showing emotion, but Connie could feel the raw pain that Jean was showing him with every pat. Next to him was Christa. Or was it Historia now? She was grasping his hand, and it felt like she would never let go. Armin was squeezing his shoulders on the right, while Mikasa was sitting on the bed near them all. Considering Mikasa, it was a grand display of affection to see the concern in her eyes. And Eren…Eren stood in front of him, stammering out an apology.

"I should have known, I could have-"

"Stop"

"But this power I don't know how to-"

"**Stop. **It's not your fault Eren. You've saved my life more times than I can count…"

Eren wrapped his arms around Connie. For a moment the two of them quietly acknowledged the other, and the pain that they had both experienced. Connie lost himself for a moment, trying to grasp the realization of what his friends had done. Connie looked around at all of his friends. They all were here for him. He never had imagined something like this. What had been only moments ago a deep pit of despair was now a haven. A haven of his friends.

"Thank you all. You don't know what this means to me-"

Armin piped up next to him. "You carried me single-handedly through Trost when you were almost out of gas yourself."

"But any one of us would have-"

Historia chimed in. "You helped me escape from Reiner and Berthdolt, and helped protect Ymir despite her choosing to leave us. In fact, you saved Reiner in Castle Utgard as well, remember?"

"We were all trying to save you and Eren-"

Mikasa finally spoke up from the back. "You're one of the most capable warriors of our squad. You were one of the ones selected to go for the Titans when we were all trapped in HQ."

"I didn't even kill mine!"

Eren bellowed over him, "Time and time again, you've been the one to go the extra mile to keep our spirits up, defend us, and save us. The least we can do is be here for you."

All was silent in the room. Connie didn't know what to do. He felt a slight prod on his shoulder. Distracted he turned to see a doll. Sasha was holding it out to him. It was faded green with bright black button eyes. It was Sunny's favorite doll.

"How did you-"

"We got permission from Levi and Hanji to find some of your belongings. They're a bit worse for wear but-"

Connie was speechless. He held the doll in his hand. He had been touched by his friends words, but this… Each member came forward with an item. Jean had found a twisted copper necklace that Connie had given to his mother for her birthday. Armin had found the family photo album, and Historia had dug up Martin's wooden sparring sword. Eren and Mikasa had the family chest with even more mementos, and had lugged it themselves.

Sasha took Connie's hand and squeezed it gently. "Your village may be gone, but we will always be a family to you."

Everyone was in tears now. Even stone-faced Mikasa had a few trickling down her face. But none more than Connie. It was a bittersweet day, but he was home now. He was home.


End file.
